Silverado earns sweep

Saturday

Mar 8, 2008 at 8:54 PMMar 20, 2008 at 9:14 PM

By BRANDON CHIZ / Special to the Press Dispatch

HESPERIA — Silverado won both titles at the 11th Annual Cops 'n' Jocks Boys Tennis Tournament on Saturday at Hesperia High School, with Ataru Akiyama capturing the singles crown and the Hawks' John Park and Parker Retes winning the doubles championship.

The doubles final featured two local teams, as Sultana's Dallin Haywood and Daniel Smith fell to Silverado's Park and Retes, 6-3, 6-2.

The Silverado players were matched up as a doubles team for the first time. Retes often brought comic relief to his teammate, joking when he made mistakes, helping keep communication high and the game fun; while Park often brought sophisticated, fast-paced play.

"I'm happy, I've only been playing for two years," Retes said, laughing. "So to come in here and win is, well, great."

His partner, still taken aback, said: "I'm just glad it worked out. We never worked together before."

The other team was not as happy.

"We were off and they weren't, it's as simple as that," Sultana coach Wayne Elliot said. "(Haywood and Dallin) did well, it's just the other team did better."

While the doubles final was dynamic and often charismatic, the singles match was a more stoic and methodical game, with Rim of the World sophomore Taylor Imperiale losing 6-4, 6-4 to Silverado's Akiyama.

"He's hurting, but he's well disciplined, he knows when to stretch and keep it moving," Paxton said.

The match quickly proved to be about consistency, as the day's trials started to take their toll.

"The trouble is (Imperiale) is facing his mirror," Rim of the World coach Don Short said during the match. "So right now, it's about who makes a mistake first."

Imperiale began to show fatigue and pain, as he was also fighting a quadriceps injury. On top of fatigue and moderate injuries, wind played a dominant factor in the game.

"All the other players here don't like the wind, however, I don't mind it," Imperiale said. "I work with it."

Imperiale meticulously cut the ball using a top-spin hit, keeping it low and angled, making Akiyama chase the ball on his already bad leg. Facing the blunt end of fatigue, particularly in the legs, Akiyama started to make surprising blunders.

"I've never seen him double-fault, ever," one Silverado teammate said.

Akiyama tapped his racket on the net, showing what seemed to be frustration for the first time. Even though Akiyama excels when calm, he seems even better when agitated. He finally found the openings and sliced through his opponent for the eventual win.

First place went to Silverado, second place to Sultana and third place to Hesperia. Following a point system, every win gave the school points towards the team title: One for the opening round, two for the quarterfinals, three for the semis and four for the finals.

After handing out the medals and plaques to the placed teams, Hesperia coach Jim Taper was happy with the results.

"It was a great day," Taper said. "Everybody counted and everybody won today."